“Amari,” calls Dylan, waving me over. It takes me by surprise. The two of us haven’t talked much since the whole “Maria might be a traitor” thing. He keeps glancing down at his gym bag.
“I, uh, picked up something during weekend break.” Dylan reaches inside and pulls out a black box with Duboise written in silver across the top. “Didn’t have a chance to give it to you before so . . .”
I’m so stunned, it takes a second for my brain to catch up. “These are for me?”
Dylan lifts off the top. A pair of really cool Sky Sprints sit inside a velvety box. The white boots have a ghostly shimmer. The tag reads Dead but Dazzling Collection.
All I can do is shake my head in disbelief. “Thank you.”
Dylan’s whole face reddens. “I mean, uh, you won’t get far in those dusty old Sky Sprints you were using before. And if you fail, so do I.”
“Right,” I say. “That makes sense.”
- Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston